Water heater in garage closet question

I know closets that are storing a gas fired water heater inside a house require a tightly sealing door with weather stripping, among other things, but what about if it’s in a garage? Do the same requirements still apply?

In my area, there is no requirement to seal furnace/water heater closets in the garage.

Where did you read this or who informed you of this? that rule only applies to closets inside a bedroom, unless a local thing.

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huh, i cant find anything. only thing i can find refers to bedrooms and bathrooms. So the closet doesnt have to be sealed even if it’s in a hallway outside a bedroom?

Since you didn’t reference where you live or have it in your bio, have you tried looking up your state codes for your state? Maybe you got a weird code in your state about weatherstripping water heater doors but I doubt it.

Im in texas.Pretty sure we use ICC code, which only states bedroom and bathroom

I’m pretty sure you don’t. Google is your friend. Put in the effort for your answer.

figured there was a reason why i got a copy of the 2012 IRC with my licensing coursework. am i missing something?

IRC is not the ICC you referenced earlier. Now read the water heater section :wink:

Ah, my understanding was that the International Code Counsel is the parent organization that publishes the International Residential Code and it was for all intents and purposes the same thing in this context.

haha thanks dad :wink: Im writing a report, i dont have time to drag out that freakin thing! lol

There’s always time to learn my friend.

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I’m in Park City, UT. I see them sealed in garage closets all the time, with fire proof doors. I think the idea here is that doors act as a seal for the garage firewall. The water heater (and furnace in some cases) located in the garage has vents and penetrations that run through the house that would quickly spread a garage originated fire. It wouldn’t be in water heater code but perhaps construction code or code for attached garages.

I think this is a similar recommendation to not having HVAC or dryer vents in a garage because they breach the firewall. Which is why we often see garage heaters as stand alone gas or electric units. Thoughts?